I was pounding out a technical bulletin in my office at work earlier this week, when one of my co-workers called me and said, "Come, you've got to see this. We are not quite sure what it is!" I had to move quickly because of the tone of his voice though I wanted to hesitate because of not knowing what I was going to find. Just outside the back door of our plant, on one of the small concrete walls that separates the grassy back space of the plant from the small set of concrete stairs that lead to the back door (from the outside) ... was the strangest "creature" I had ever seen making its way from out of the grass and across the top of the wall. First glance ... a baby snake or an immensely long and flat snail ... but that was what everyone that had gathered their had surmised at first. Challenged to look more closely, we found a small snaking army of maggot-like micro worms, all different sizes moving together as a slimy slithering unified force. While not distracted they would continue forward, if their ranks were broken they would pull together and then continue on. I took a picture and returned to my office ... later when I asked what happened to the creature, I was told that once they determined it to be an army of death munching worms it was destroyed. No funeral, no burial, no remorse ... just total annihilation.
As God woke me up this morning, He started me thinking about "wickedness" due to the remembrance of this miniature army of death. Words like sin, iniquity and wickedness carried the weight of God's foreboding judgment into my nocturnal thought patterns. And even though God is not standing around ready to "tromp" on anyone who chooses sin, the penalties or consequences still remain and there will be a personal "payday". "It is appointed unto men, once to die, but after this the judgment" ... "So then everyone of us shall give account of himself to God". "And the smoke of their torment rose up forever and ever". Hey folks ... WAKE UP!! "For the wages of sin is (still) death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our LORD."
The history of Israel, during the time of "Moses" was so much like our wandering through this world, that it seems we best walk circumspectly keeping the words that God has told us about them, close to our heart. In Deuteronomy 9 ... Moses reminds the people of their rebellious choices that had God ready to destroy them at any moment, but Moses stood in the gap. Does that mean that no one died? Thousands died... a whole generation died wandering in the wilderness.
Deut. 9: 22, 23 - "And at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibrothhattaavah, ye provoked the LORD to wrath. Likewise when the LORD sent you from Kadeshbarnea, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you; then ye rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened to his voice." Moses reminded them throughout this Chapter of his intercession that kept them from total annihilation. Moses stood in the Gap.
The Church is suffering today from an army of sinful choices and forbidden pleasures that similar to an Army of Maggots will attach themselves to anything rotting in our lives. We have become tolerant of way too much wickedness, and the infection is spreading deep. We come across as tolerating sin because "we love" the sinner, and don't want to make him mad (he may turn from Jesus). We even use the battle cry "Love God, Hate Sin". BUT in reality...Will we let go of the garbage we coddle for the sake of the Kingdom? Will we annihilate the death army within our hearts instead of making excuses and keeping this monster growing within our hidden, wicked foster care? Are we tolerating sin in others because we don't want to Judge our own sin sickness? We spend too much time discussing, debating, studying, justifying, and putting on pious penitent airs in our beggarly Bible gatherings, when we should be confessing and forsaking our sin; so we can truly pray with power as we move ahead with Godly brokenness over the peril of our "brethren in bondage" and "the lost without Christ".
Tolerance, How far should I go? To the Cross ... Behold what manner of love!! Hate Sin because of where it took Jesus ... for us.
HLFA,
Jeff